Stanley Cup Playoffs 2015: Postseason Standings and Updated Bracket Schedule

The quest for the Stanley Cup is heating up by the game, as the 2015 NHL playoffs continue churning forward at a nonstop pace entering Wednesday night's duo of games.

All four Eastern Conference teams left standing will go to battle Wednesday, with the two East favorites looking to avoid being pushed to the brink of elimination. The Montreal Canadiens are heading down to Tampa Bay hoping to avoid a 3-0 series deficit to the Lightning, while the New York Rangers need a victory in Washington to even up their series against the Capitals.

A picture is beginning to be painted out West, where the Chicago Blackhawks took a 3-0 series lead over the Minnesota Wild and the Anaheim Ducks look to hold off the Calgary Flames—currently up 2-1 in the series. Every game from here on out promises to paint that picture even clearer, so let's take a look at the remaining action for Round 2.

Round 2 NHL Playoffs Schedule

Date	Matchup (TB leads 2-0)	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup (WSH leads 2-1)	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup (CHI leads 3-0)	Time (ET)	TV
Date	Matchup (ANA leads 2-1)	Time (ET)	TV
Wed., May 6	Game 3: Montreal at Tampa Bay	7 p.m.	USA, CBC
Thurs., May 7	Game 4: Montreal at Tampa Bay	7 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC
Sat., May 9*	Game 5: Tampa Bay at Montreal	TBD	CBC
Tues., May 12*	Game 6: Montreal at Tampa Bay	TBD	CBC
Thurs., May 14*	Game 7: Tampa Bay at Montreal	TBD	TBD
Wed., May 6	Game 4: New York Rangers at Washington	7:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Fri., May 8	Game 5: Washington at New York Rangers	7 p.m.	NBCSN, CBC
Sun., May 10*	Game 6: New York Rangers at Washington	TBD	CBC
Wed., May 13*	Game 7: Washington at New York Rangers	TBD	TBD
Thurs., May 7	Game 4: Chicago at Minnesota	9:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Sat., May 9*	Game 5: Minnesota at Chicago	TBD	TBD
Mon., May 11*	Game 6: Chicago at Minnesota	TBD	TBD
Wed., May 13*	Game 7: Minnesota at Chicago	TBD	TBD
Fri., May 8	Game 4: Anaheim at Calgary	9:30 p.m.	NBCSN
Sun., May 10	Game 5: Calgary at Anaheim	TBD	TBD
Tues., May 12*	Game 6: Anaheim at Calgary	TBD	TBD
Thurs., May 14*	Game 7: Calgary at Anaheim	TBD	TBD

Updated times and television channels will be posted at NHL.com.

Series to Watch

Montreal Canadiens vs. Tampa Bay Lightning

Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

In a second round that has been awfully difficult to gauge which matchups are going to be the memorable ones, the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning are fixed in what looks to be a down-to-the-wire series.

Of course, the Lightning have something to say about that.

For those eyeing a seven-game thriller between Montreal and Tampa Bay, those beliefs likely aren't shared in the Lightning locker room. They just took a 2-0 lead over the No. 1 seed—in their building—and return to Tampa with the opportunity to go up three games to none.

It's been quite the turnaround, as Tampa Bay trailed 2-0 with five minutes left in an elimination Game 6 against Detroit—only to rattle off two goals and win it in overtime before taking Game 7. The Lightning took that mentality into Montreal and escaped with two impressive victories.

The Canadiens did a lot to help the Lightning out, racking up 53 penalty minutes in Game 2 alone. That had no small impact on the 6-2 final, as Tampa Bay scored four of its goals on the power play.

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

Montreal goaltender Carey Price—a Hart and Vezina Trophy finalist—was hung out to dry on many of those goals, but believes the losing streak will have no ill effects, per ESPN's Pierre LeBrun: "I'm doing what I've been doing my whole life. Regardless if you've won two previous games or lost two previous games, it's all about just getting mentally prepared and focused on what you need to do to be successful the next game."

As for the Lightning, they should be riding high as they return home for Game 3 but also wary of what could come. The rigors of a long first-round series haven't caught up to them yet, but Games 3 and 4 will pose a back-to-back threat with no rest day in between, as Sports Illustrated showed:

That poses the potential of allowing Montreal to claw back into this series in Tampa Bay, but such thoughts aren't on the Lightning's minds as they hope to take a commanding lead in the series Wednesday night, per Bryan Burns of TampaBayLightning.com:

For all of the Canadiens' struggles thus far in this series, they are only one resilient performance away from getting back in it. The 6-2 shellacking they took in Game 2 so much resembled a 5-1 loss in the first round to Ottawa, after which they bounced back to clinch the series.

A similar sort of bounce-back needs to be in order starting Wednesday for the Canadiens to have a chance in this series, but one single performance in that manner will have folks clamoring again about Montreal's chances. 

Doing so against Steven Stamkos and his stacked Lightning attack four times, however, will prove much more difficult than their Round 1 adventures.